Rekindling of the Sacred Flames
by DragonoftheMidwest
Summary: END GAME SPOILERS At Tataroo Valley, the group gets a surprise that nobody was expecting. Aschtalia-focused.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I decided to do a continuation of The Night Before. If you haven't read that, then I suggest you do before hand. Link to The Night Before**

* * *

Two years had passed since the defeat of Vandesdelca and the New Order of Lorelei. Luke's coming of age ceremony had begun, and his closest friends were nowhere to be found. Though they were invited, everybody knew that they would choose to gather at Tataroo Valley rather than gather around the Scion of Lorelei's grave.

_Toue lei zue kro ryou toue zue_

Tear sang her heart out, wishing more than anybody that Luke would come back.

_Kro ryou zue toue ryou lei neu ryou zue_

Guy closed his eyes, remembering both times that he had lost loved ones on Hod.

_Va lei zue toue neu toue ryou toue kro_

Anise thanked Lorelei and Yulia Jue for giving her and Florian the strength to rebuild the Order in honor of Ion.

_Ryuo lei kro ryuo zue lei va zue lei_

Jade solemnly stared ahead, cursing himself for creating the horrible technology that had caused Van to make this mess. At the same time, he was grateful that his technology ended up saving the world from the Score of Destruction.

_Va neu va lei va neu va zue lei_

Mieu hummed along, remembering how much his Master secretly loved when Tear sang her hymns.

_Kro ryou kro neu toue lei kro ryo zeu lei va_

Natalia wept freely, mourning her beloved friends and the future that she had hoped to build with them, and especially the one that she had planned with Asch.

_Lei va neu kro toue lei lei_

Tear finished her hymn, and everybody remained silent for a few moments. Jade finally sighed, "We should head back; the valley is dangerous at night." Pushing his glasses up, he turned and strode back towards where Noelle was waiting with the Albiore. One by one, the others followed; leaving Tear and Natalia behind momentarily to gaze upon the ruins of Eldrant. Natalia gently laid a hand on Tear's shoulder before also turning to return to the Albiore. Tear took that as a sign to return as well. She collected Mieu in her arms and followed Princess Natalia to join their friends. Looking over her shoulder, she had to do a double take when she saw the figure approaching them from the ruins. The long hair, the sword strapped across his lower back, the way he carried himself. She gasped, it had to be him. Tear ran to close the distance between her and the figure.

"Why are you here?" She asked him, not trusting herself to say more than that. She heard the footsteps of the others as they came to see what had caused her to gasp.

The man before her chuckled, his red hair covering his eyes. "This place has a nice view of Hod. Besides, I promised, didn't I?" He opened his arms to Tear, and she fell into his embrace.

Natalia made it to them first, and upon realizing that Luke had returned, smiled faintly. At least one of the Duke's sons had been able to return. "Welcome back, Luke." Her voice was close to breaking as she reminded herself that she will never see Asch again, and that the letter she had received last year at her own coming of age ceremony was still real.

* * *

One year and six months prior

_The entire city of Baticul was decked out in banners. Doors were covered in ribbons of the Princess's favorite color of Aqua. Emperor Peony IX and Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Third Division of the Malkuth Imperial Forces, and Lord Gailardia Galan Gardios from the Malkuth Empire were visiting; as well and Fon Master Florian, Fon Master Guard Anise Tatlin and Locrian Sargent Tear Grants of the Order of Lorelei. Shops closed down and the entire Kingdom was celebrating the coming of age of Princess Natalia luzu Kimlasca-Landvaldeer. _

_ In the palace gardens, Natalia's close friends and family gathered to give her gifts for her birthday. Peony had given her a portrait of the Rappig that he had named after her. Jade had given her a new Capacity Core. Florian and Anise had given her a new bow that was similar to the ones that the now-disbanded Oracle Knights had used. Tear presented her with a book on the history of Yulia City. Guy had brought her a necklace that he had designed himself and was made in Sheridan. _

_ A guard approached the group and cleared his throat, "A miss Noir is her for you, Princess Natalia. She claims that she has a letter from an Asch."_

_ Natalia almost knocked everybody over as she stood up and ran to the gate that she saw Noir standing at. Noir had removed her signature hat and wasn't smirking as usual. Seeing this, Natalia slowed and pondered what the letter from Asch could possibly contain. The little parchment envelope was in her gloved hands, and a black wax seal stood out against the rest of the envelope. Noir approached the Princess and presented the envelope to her. Natalia took it with shaking hands. She felt Guy and the others crowding around her, but at a respectable distance, as she broke the seal and pulled the letter out. _

My dearest Princess Natalia,

I instructed Noir to deliver this upon your next birthday if needed. So before I begin the painful part, I wish the happiest of birthdays to you, my love.

If you are reading this, then I perished in Eldrant and can no longer keep my promise to you. It breaks my heart to know that you may have to read this. I wish that instead, I could be by your side, and asking your Father for permission to marry you once I myself come of age.

Please do not stop yourself from marrying or doing anything else that you saw us doing together after I returned home for good. I want you to live life to the fullest. Find somebody to change our country together with. Find somebody that you can live happily with while you raise the next heir to the throne and will make you happy in all of the ways I would have.

I have also included a written dissolution of our engagement for your father, so he cannot force you to marry Luke if he survived.

My only request is that you do not marry Luke in hopes of him turning out to be what you had hoped me to be. I don't want you to spend your life trying to make him into something he isn't. You would end up only being disappointed, and I don't want that for you.

Once again, happy birthday, my Princess,

Asch the Bloody

Asch the Bloody

God General and Commander of Special of Operations of the Oracle Knights

The Original Luke fon Fabre

_Natalia's eyes widened in shock as she read through the letter. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized that Asch really was dead. Falling to her knees and sobbing, she dropped the letter and covered her face as she openly mourned Asch. She heard somebody pick up the envelope and felt Tear's comforting embrace. Hushed male voices began to break through to her, as King Ingobert and Emperor Peony discussed the contents of the letter and the dissolution of her engagement. _

* * *

Guy's voice brought her out of her memories. "Natalia, look!" He pointed further into the valley, where another figure that the others hadn't yet seen was approaching. This figure was making slower progress than Luke had, and seemed to be struggling to walk completely upright.

Natalia looked from the figure, to Guy, and back to the figure. She wanted to hope, but she knew that hoping in regards to him since that night in Chesedonia had only hurt her. "Guy, will you come with me?" She asked over her shoulder. The Malkuth noble nodded in response. They slowly approached the now stumbling figure, leaving the others to continue the reunion with Luke. The closer they got, the harder it got for Natalia to run to the man. He had his hair, he was the right height and grunts he made as he fell sounded like him. She wanted it to be her beloved Asch, but she couldn't be sure until they were face to face.

Suddenly, the man collapsed and didn't try to get back up. Natalia and Guy broke into a run, hoping that it wasn't too late. The man was lying face down on the ground. Natalia rolled him over and gasped when she realized that it was him. "Asch," was all she could manage as she picked his torso up and held him close. She felt his eyelids flutter at the sound of her voice.

"My princess." He whispered in her ear before his body went limp. Natalia panicked before realizing he was still breathing.

"Guy, go get Noelle and try to get the Albiore as close as possible! We need to get him to a bed quickly. I'll try to help him with fonic artes here until you return. Have Jade send a message to my Father and Duke Fabre about the situation. Tell them we'll return to Baticul once Asch is strong enough."

"I'm on it!" Guy stood and ran at breakneck speed towards where they had left the Albiore. He couldn't believe that both Asch and Luke had returned. Luke was surprising, but Asch was flat out unbelievable. Asch had actually _died_ before they had fought Van. They would have a lot of explaining to do back in Baticul.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it took a while to get this up! I was having trouble deciding how Guy should fit into all of this, but I think I finally figured it out.  
**

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The first thing Asch felt when he woke up was agonizing pain. Lorelei had warned him about residual pain from when he had died, even though his wounds had been healed. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and was simply listening to his surroundings. He was in a bed, and somebody's head was at his side. A faint snoring was coming from the direction of the head. His arms were at his sides under the blankets, and somebody had put him into what felt like soft pajamas.

He was about to open his eyes and look at his sleeping companion when the door opened. A deep sigh met his ears and he felt somebody shake his companion, or his companion's chair. "Natalia, wake up, I brought you some tea." That was Guy. Asch kept his eyes shut; he wasn't ready to face anybody that wasn't Natalia just yet. She deserved to be the first to hear what had happened to him. The head by his side, now identified as Natalia, lifted from the bed. He heard her yawn softly,

"Thank you, Guy." She sounded exhausted. "He still hasn't woken up yet, I'm worried."

"You'd think he'd be plenty rested after being dead for two years." Asch could hear the smirk in Guy's voice. "You're right, awful joke, and don't give me that look. Anyway, Jade said he's never seen anything like this before. Neither of them should be here."

"I'm just thankful that they are here. I thought I was going crazy when I saw him in my arms last night. I healed his broken bones, and his organs all seem to be working fine. I have a doctor coming in later today to do a more thorough analysis of both of them. They should both be okay."

"Will _you_ be okay? I mean, he keeps disappearing and reappearing. Do you think he'd really stay this time?" Guy's words were like a punch in the gut. Asch knew he deserved the skepticism, since he hadn't really been consistent with his relationship with the princess.

"I'm not getting my hopes up." Natalia's voice was cracking; Asch could almost hear the tears forming in her eyes. "I don't want him to leave, but what would make him stay?"

"If I were him, you'd be more than enough to make me stay. If he hurts you again, I'll kick his ass." There was anger in Guy's voice. They Malkuth noble had always been protective of Natalia, and their close relationship had always made Asch a little jealous.

"Guy-" Natalia began, but she didn't finish. She was crying too hard. Asch heard her sobbing grow muffled, and he assumed that Guy was holding her.

Asch had heard enough, he groaned loudly to remind them of his presence and sat up. Feigning ignorance of the situation around him, he looked at Natalia and Guy. "Is everything okay?" Natalia wasn't in Guy's arms, as he had guessed. She had her face buried in a lacy handkerchief.

"It's just a lot to take in," Natalia sighed. "We never thought we would see either of you ever again, but here you are;" a teary-eyed Natalia gestured to Asch with a trembling hand. "Two years later, you appear without warning, alive and well."

"Trust me; I didn't plan _any _of this." Asch started to explain. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm back." Asch reached out for Natalia's hand and gently massaged her fingers and palm. "But I don't plan on disappearing on you again."

"What is that supposed to mean to me?" Natalia jerked her hand away. "Am I supposed to believe that two years ago was the last time that you go missing or die or leave me without telling me what you know about what's going to happen? How can I trust you to stay and actually follow through with any promises that you make?" Natalia was yelling at him by this point.

"Natalia," Guy and Asch started in unison. Asch fell silent under the glares of the Kimlascan Princess and the Malkuthian Count.

"Natalia, will you please leave me with Asch for a moment?" There was a dark look in Guy's eyes as he made his request.

"Guy, don't do something you'll regret. I'll give you ten minutes." Natalia picked up her now cold tea and left the room.

As soon as the door shut, Guy turned on Asch. "I don't want you to make any promises that you don't fully intend to keep. You want to promise her your love and affection for the rest of your lives and disappear or die again? Do you realize what you did to her?"

"I didn't-" Asch started, but Guy stopped him with a hand in the air.

"You didn't see her when she found out that you died in Eldrant. You didn't see her sobbing at her coming of age ceremony when she got that damned letter. You didn't help her get better every step of the way while she was getting over your sorry ass!" Guy slammed his fist on the bedside table.

"What would your rather me do?" Asch was angry now. "Tell her that I knew I was dying and wouldn't make it out of Eldrant alive? Do what I really wanted to and ask her to run away with me so we could spend my last living moments together? Ask her to give me her innocence and, knowing my luck, leave her alone with a child who would never meet his dead father?" Asch glared daggers at Guy.

The last question caught Guy's attention. "You mean you two never-?"

"I still have not bedded a woman. And as far as I know, she is also still pure."

"Didn't do the young General with a new lady every night thing?"

"How could I? I saw what my father's past did to my mother, and I didn't want to do that to my future wife. Even in Daath, I heard the rumors of how Duke Fabre's wife tore herself up over not being like his past lovers." Asch sighed, and then returned to glaring at Guy. "I did what I could to protect her heart as much as I could. My resources were pretty limited. I was lucky that Noir actually delivered the letter." Asch's glare melted into a more somber expression. "I just didn't want her to spend her days hung up on me, hoping I would come back again in seven years or something. Would you rather me let her continue clinging to some microscopic hope that I could come back again? I wanted her to have some sort of definite knowledge that I was gone, so she _could_ get over my sorry ass."

Guy gestured to Asch lying in the bed. "And this? What is this supposed to be? How do we know that you won't be running off as soon as you're well again?"

Asch sighed and sat back against his pillows. "If I knew that this was going to happen, I would have asked her to wait for me. Did she tell you about the promise I made to her the night before the battle?"

"You saw her the night before? When? Why not the rest of us?"

"Yeah, I asked her to come meet me at my room at the inn. She did, and I promised her that if and when I came back, I would drop everything from my life as an Oracle Knight and do everything in my power to help her change our country, marriage or not."

"That explains some of your wording from that letter you sent her." Guy rubbed his temple with his fingertips.

"When the replica, I mean, Luke gets back and we're all in the same room, we'll explain what happened after he freed Lorelei. Until then, can you go get Natalia? I want to talk to her alone for a bit. I need to apologize to her. For everything."

Count Gardios sighed and ran his fingers through his short blond hair. "It's about damn time," was all he said before showing himself out the door.

Natalia returned a few moments later, without her mug of tea. She remained close to the door with a fearful look in her eyes, as if coming closer would make the redhead in front of her disappear. Asch patted the mattress next to him, inviting Natalia over. She hesitated, before giving in and coming over to sit in her chair from earlier.

Asch leaned back and closed his eyes. "I don't even know where to begin."

"How about you begin with getting better, you can't do anything else if you're still partially dead." Natalia reached over to him and grasped his hand gently in hers.

"I don't mean that, I mean what to apologize for. What do I apologize for first? Not telling you the truth about Luke being my replica? Being cold and indifferent towards you after you found out? Lying to you about coming back that night two years ago in Chesedonia? Keeping your hopes up until you received that damned letter that I wrote?"

"You don't have to apologize, Asch. You're here and alive, and that's all that matters to me." Natalia squeezed Asch's hand reassuringly and whispered, "don't let whatever Guy said earlier get to you and make you feel as if I'm angry with you after these years."

"You mean, you're just going to forgive me just like that?" Asch couldn't believe his eyes when the princess nodded in response. "Why? After I treated you so awfully, and broke your heart, why would you forgive me before I even properly apologized."

"If our positions had been reversed, I wouldn't have been as selfless as you." The blonde princess leaned forward in her chair, massaging Asch's calloused palm with her tiny fingers. "You could have asked me to run away and abandon our duties to the people of Auldrant at any moment, but you didn't. You love the people of our country and even our world too much to do that, and I don't think I could have made that choice as nobly as you did. You showed your true colors during our few moments alone during that year. You were cold at times because you had to be and you took the precautions necessary to make it as painless as possible for me, so what more could I ask for?" Asch sat speechless in the bed. Natalia making a selfish decision didn't seem like a possibility, but she seemed so sure that she would have.

"Natalia, I-" Asch began, but Natalia stopped him.

"If you're going to make an excuse, don't, I don't want you beating yourself up about this anymore." Asch opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off. "Don't tell me you aren't, I can see it in your eyes."

"Guy told me how hard you took things, how am I supposed to make that up to you if you won't let me?" Asch growled in frustration.

"Just spend what time you do have helping me rebuild Kimlasca. You don't have to make good on any other promises, just promise me that you'll help make our country a better place for the people of Kimlasca to live." Natalia released his hand and stood. "I have to go meet the doctor somewhere soon. I'll bring him back and have him examine you and Luke once he's here." She left Asch alone in the small room with just his thoughts to keep him company.

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**A/N: Don't forget to read and review! **


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